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SAT Contrast Transitions: However, Nevertheless

Contrast transitions are the most common correct answers in this question type, but the SAT usually offers several of them at once. However, nevertheless, conversely, and by contrast all signal opposition and are not interchangeable. The differences are small and learnable.

The rule

Use however for a general reversal, nevertheless for a result that holds in spite of an obstacle, and by contrast for two opposite cases set side by side.

However is the general-purpose contrast word. It works whenever the second sentence goes against the expectation set by the first. If a method was widely adopted and the next sentence says it rarely worked outside a lab, however fits with no further conditions.

Nevertheless means something closer to even so. It marks a result that holds despite a reason it should not have. If the first sentence describes serious obstacles and the second says the project finished on time anyway, nevertheless is precise in a way however is merely adequate. The key is that the second sentence persists in spite of the first.

Conversely and by contrast do something different. They set two things side by side that are opposite to each other, rather than overturning an expectation. If one sentence says warm-water fish moved north and the next says cold-water fish moved south, that is a symmetric comparison, so by contrast or conversely is right and however would be loose.

On the other hand introduces a second consideration rather than a reversal, and usually needs a first hand to have been established. In contrast is close to by contrast and is used when the two items differ in a stated respect. Test the choices by reading the two sentences aloud with each one inserted and listening for whether the relationship is reversal, persistence, or symmetry.

One structural note that saves time. A transition question only ever depends on the sentence before and the sentence after the blank. You do not need the rest of the paragraph. Read those two sentences, name the relationship without the choices visible, and then match.

The trap

Picking any contrast word because a contrast exists, when the choices differ in the specific kind of contrast they signal.

Try it

Try one
Real question

Honeybees have no photoreceptor for red light and cannot distinguish a red blossom from the dark green leaves around it. ______, flowers that depend on bees for pollination are almost never pure red; they tend toward blue, violet, and yellow.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

Two teams sequenced the same Neanderthal finger bone and disagreed about how much of the genome was contamination from the people who handled it. The Leipzig group treated any fragment matching a modern European haplotype as suspect and discarded a tenth of its reads. ______, the Uppsala group kept every fragment and modelled contamination as a rate to be estimated afterwards, which left more data and a wider error bar around every result.

Which choice completes the text with the most logical transition?

  • A) In contrast, ✓
  • B) For instance,
  • C) Likewise,
  • D) Consequently,

Why: One team threw out suspect reads and the other kept them all, so a contrasting transition is needed. Result invents causation between two independent teams, and likeness and illustration both treat the second method as a version of the first. Consequently, is result, and the Leipzig method did not cause the Uppsala one. Likewise, is likeness, though discarding reads and keeping them are opposite choices. For instance, is illustration, which would make the Uppsala approach an instance of the Leipzig one.

Practice more of these free

Questions students ask

Are however and nevertheless interchangeable?

Not quite. However signals a general reversal of expectation. Nevertheless means the second statement holds even though the first would suggest otherwise. When both appear as choices, ask whether the second sentence persists in spite of the first or simply contradicts it.

How much of the passage do I need for a transition question?

Only the sentence immediately before the blank and the sentence containing it. The relationship between those two sentences determines the answer, and reading further can introduce relationships that are not the one being tested.

Guides that cover this

More on transition words